#100wordsaday

I’ve interviewed a number of candidates for my workplace lately. I’m noticing a rather alarming trend.

A surprising number of candidates are extremely bad at talking about themselves.

Nobody expects perfection in an interview, but something is very wrong when candidates for senior roles can’t successfully “tell me about a time when…”

If you put it on your resume, please be able to talk about it.

I occasionally do see candidates that are prepared. It’s a pleasure to talk with them. They can answer questions using the STAR method.

Another recent hobby of mine is wood working with a scroll saw.

It’s fun and relaxing to create things using it. I’ve mainly practiced cutting out simple projects like animal puzzles and Christmas ornaments. I need more experience before tackling harder plans.

I’m especially excited about making two things, homemade wooden jigsaw puzzles and toys for my daughter.

The smile on her face when I give her things is heart harming.

I love learning new things and trying new hobbies. I’ve dabbled in everything from ham radio to glass on metal jewelry enameling. My latest hobby is audio recording.

No, I’ll never work as a recording engineer.

I want to stop to struggling to record and edit good audio. If I need to make a presentation, or perhaps create an online class, I want the skills to do so.

I’m using equipment I already own.

It’s hard to accomplish anything if you don’t get started. How many people talk about hiking the Appalachian Trail? They won’t succeed if they don’t start.

They have to walk up the first mountain.

I want to climb that first mountain with writing. There’s no reason I can’t take those first steps. I’ve certainly put it off long enough.

Procrastination is easy. I took a song writing course over a decade ago. Daily writing was suggested, but I didn’t follow through and create a habit.